April 13 Reuters Chinas imports of major commodities rose strongly in March from the year ago, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday, as the worlds secondbiggest economy marched ahead postCOVID19.

Chinas overall imports surged 38.1 yearoveryear in March, the fastest pace in four years, while exports also grew at a robust pace.

Below are comments from analysts on the commodities data.

KEY POINTS

Crude oil March imports were at 49.66 million tonnes, up 21 yoy

Natural gas March imports were at 8.73 million tonnes, up 26.1 yoy

Iron ore March imports were at 102.11 million tonnes, up 18.9 yoy

Copper March imports were at 552,317 tonnes, up 25 yoy

Soybean March imports were at 7.77 million tonnes, up 82 yoy

Meat March imports were 1.02 million tonnes, up 11.4 yoy

Preliminary table of commodity trade data

Comment on copper

HE TIANYU, CHINA COPPER ANALYST AT CRU GROUP

The big jump in imports in March on a YOY basis is because of the impact of COVID19 in Q1 2020. In Q1 2021, the continuing impact of COVID19 led to tensions in international maritime logistics capacity. Capacity constraints eased somewhat in March, so there was some growth from January and February. However, the capacity problem has not yet been fully resolved, so some of the lagging goods will continue to enter China in the future.

In addition, Chinas copper demand is growing at a positive yearonyear rate as the overseas outbreak has not fully recovered and some overseas…